


A Girl and Her Magikarp

by Dragonsrule18



Series: Dragonsrule's Random Pokemon Oneshots Collection [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable, Cute child OC, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Human and Pokemon friendship, Original Pokemon Trainer - Freeform, Pokemon saving a human, Protective Magikarp, goofy nicknames, well technically she's still a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 10:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12033708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonsrule18/pseuds/Dragonsrule18
Summary: A little girl befriends a tiny Magikarp in a pet store.  Months later, their bond ends up saving her life.





	A Girl and Her Magikarp

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

A Girl And Her Magikarp

Andrea happily clung to her daddy's hand, her blond curls bouncing as they walked into the pet store. She had just turned five and her daddy was getting her a very special birthday present. A Pokemon of her very own!

There were a lot of Pokemon in the pet store, Rattata, Pidgey, Growlithe puppies, Meowth kittens, and even a baby Eevee with a lot of people crowded around it. "So which Pokemon do you like best, Princess?" her daddy asked.

Andrea looked around the pet story, her little eyes wide. All of the Pokemon were so cute! But which one did she want?

She walked up to the Meowth kittens, but they were all playing with their toys and just ignored her. The fluffy little Growlithe puppies were cute, but they made Mommy sneeze, so they couldn't come home with her.

Looking around some more, Andrea noticed a glass door. It read "Aquarium." and had a picture of colorful fishies on it. Curiously, she opened it and went inside.

The first thing she saw was a big tank filled with red fish Pokemon. She remembered from her picture book that they were called Magikarp. She walked up to the tank and watched them swim around. Most just ignored her, but one Magikarp, the smallest Magikarp in the tank, swam up to her.

"Hi!" Andrea said happily, pressing her hand against the glass. The Magikarp, happy about getting attention, did a little flip in the tank, then blew some bubbles. Andrea giggled happily. "You're so cute! Do you want to come home with me and be my Pokemon?

The little Magikarp nodded eagerly, well, as best as a Magikarp could nod and blew some bubbles, then did another happy flip, actually leaping out of the water and landing back in the tank with a big splash, making Andrea laugh and clap her hands. "Yay! Let me get my daddy and we'll buy you and take you home! I'll be right back!" She ran out the door and the little Magikarp waited for her.

…..

Meanwhile, Andrea's father was looking around the store, thinking his daughter was right behind him. He stopped at the Eevee cage. "Sweetie, what do you think of…" He turned to look back at his daughter, his eyes widening in fear when he realized she wasn't behind him. "Andrea?! Andrea, where are you?" he called out frantically, all the worst case scenarios flashing through his head.

"Daddy!" he heard his daughter's voice call and he sighed with relief, running towards her.

"Andrea, where were you? You know you're supposed to stay with me!" he scolded her.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." she said sadly. "I went to the a..aqua…In there!" She pointed to the door of the aquarium room. "I found the bestest Pokemon in the whole store!"

"That's good, sweetie, but you need to remember, you have to stay with me when we're out. You had Daddy very worried about you." he told her and she nodded, looking down sadly. "Now let's go see that Pokemon." He took her hand and she led him back into the aquarium.

As soon as they entered the room, the little Magikarp immediately swam towards her, getting as close as it possibly could. "Isn't Magikarp the cutest? Show Daddy the flips you can do!" Andrea happily asked her new little friend. Magikarp immediately did another flip in the tank, making Andrea laugh and clap again. Magikarp then swam back to her and blew more bubbles happily.

Her father laughed. "Well, he certainly seems to like you. So is this the Pokemon you want, Princess?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!" She then cocked her head curiously. "How do you know Magikarp's a boy?"

"You can tell by their whiskers." he told her. "Boy Magikarp have yellow whiskers, while girl ones have white whiskers." Andrea nodded, absorbing this new information. "Now, Andrea, you know you've got to take really good care of him and make sure he's fed and his tank is clean." he reminded her.

"I will, Daddy." she promised, her little face showing an expression of fierce sincerity as her hazel eyes sparkled. "I'll make sure he's the happiest Magikarp in the world!"

Her daddy smiled. "Good. Now what are you going to name him?"

Her face scrunched up in thought. "Well, he likes to do flips and blow bubbles when he's happy. Hmm, should I call him Flip? No, that sounds funny. I don't like it. I think I'll call him Bubbles! That's a cute name!"

Her father hid a laugh and didn't have the heart to tell her that Bubbles was just as silly a nickname as Flip. The little Magikarp didn't seem to mind though, happy about having a name at all and about all the attention he was getting.

"Let's get a salesperson to get Bubbles out for you so you can take him home. We'll also need to get an aquarium for him and some food." he told her. She grinned and raced out with him, eager to get everything Bubbles needed quickly so she could take him home.

…..

Later, Andrea sat happily in the car with her father on the way home, talking a mile a minute about Bubbles and how she was going to set up his new little aquarium and everything they would do together. The Poke Ball belonging to Bubbles was cradled protectively in her lap. Right now, the ball was officially registered to her father, but once she was ten and got her trainer's license, it would be registered to her.

Her father smiled at her excitement as they pulled into their driveway, then unloaded everything, her father carrying the aquarium while Andrea proudly carried the bag with Bubbles' food and the decorations for his tank. Andrea's mom was waiting at home for them and came to greet them when she heard the door open, expecting Andrea to come in with an Eevee or a Meowth at her side. She was surprised when she saw them come with an aquarium. "Hi, guys. What did you get?"

"I got a Magikarp! His name is Bubbles and he's so cute!" Andrea said happily, following her dad into her room where he set the tank down.

"A Magikarp?" she asked in surprise that her five year old had picked out a Magikarp with all the cute and cuddly Pokemon in the pet store. Andrea didn't even seem to notice her surprise, too busy decorating her new Pokemon's tank with the stones and plants she had bought so that it was nice and pretty when she put Bubbles in it.

"I was surprised too." her husband admitted. "But the little guy is really cute and smart for a fish Pokemon. He was even doing little flips for her and seems to absolutely adore her. Plus, she absolutely loves him and that's what's most important." He then laughed quietly. "And it was a LOT less expensive than an Eevee would have been, so that's a huge bonus right there."

"She does seem very happy. I just hope she doesn't get bored with him after the thrill of having her first Pokemon wears off. Magikarp don't do all that much." her mom said.

"Somehow, I don't think she'll get bored with him at all. With how they acted together in the store, I think those two will be friends for life." her dad reassured her.

….

And her dad was absolutely right. The bond between the little girl and her Magikarp friend only grew stronger. Andrea spent a lot of time with Bubbles, petting him through the top of the aquarium, reading to him, drawing pictures for him, and simply talking to him. She made sure to feed him every morning and kept the aquarium clean with her dad's help with lifting. And Bubbles absolutely adored his little trainer, doing a flip every time she entered the room or he heard her return from school, sticking his head out to be petted and nuzzling her, and blowing bubbles for her to make her smile. Andrea even taught him how to leap out of the water and jump through a little ring, definitely proving to her mother that there was nothing dull about this Magikarp.

Bubbles quickly grew and after two months, was starting to get too big for his tank. Andrea, being an independent little creature, wanted to earn the money for his tank "all on her own" and did little jobs for both her dad and the neighbors. A chunk of "Christmas money" from both her parents and grandparents also helped to pay for it, and Bubbles soon had a new tank for Christmas, which the Magikarp thanked her for by jumping in the air and giving her a nuzzle.

Months passed and winter became a nice warm spring. Once the weather was warm enough, Andrea's dad set up her kiddy pool in the backyard and Andrea always brought Bubbles out to swim with her. The two developed a little game, splashing each other and laughing, and chasing one another around the pool, which was always fun for her parents to watch. Her parents loved the bond Andrea shared with her first Pokemon, but they never knew that bond would soon save her life.

…..

"Andrea, are you ready to go to the lake?" her mother called one day in late May.

"I'm ready!" Andrea called, dressed in her little blue swimsuit and wearing her life jacket. "Can Bubbles come too?" she asked pleadingly.

"All right. But keep him close to you. You don't want him to get lost." her dad said after a few moments of thinking.

Andrea squealed happily and ran back to her room. "You get to come to the lake with me, Bubbles!" she told her Magikarp. He did one of his happy flips and waited for her to recall him to his Poke Ball, which she soon did, running out to join her parents.

The lake was only a short walk from the house and was a fairly secluded place but also very nice, many small fish and fish Pokemon calling the lake home with some forest and bug Pokemon also living in the woods around the lake. It had a small sandy beach area where Andrea's mom set out a blanket and a cooler full of drinks, snacks, and lunch. She also had a rod and began fishing, while Andrea's father read a book, both keeping an eye on their daughter though as she let out Bubbles and the two began to play.

The two happily swam and leapt around in the shallows, splashing and chasing one another, happy to have so much more space to play together than they did before. After a little while, Andrea had an idea. "Let's have a race!" she told Bubbles who happily gave her his version of a nod. She climbed out of the water "You swim in the water and I'll run on land. Let's see who's faster!" she giggled. "Ready…set…go!" She ran and Bubbles took off after her.

After a few minutes, Andrea was running closer to the denser section of the woods through tall grass. Andrea's mother looked up and saw this. "Andrea, don't run so far off!" she called and she and Andrea's father got up quickly. Andrea did stop, but in the process, accidentally stepped on the tail of a sleeping Arbok who was laying curled up in the grass. The Arbok was not happy about being awakened and shot up to its full height and hissed at Andrea, who screamed and tried to back away, but tripped and fell. Her mother and father screamed too and started to rush over, but they would never make it there in time as the Arbok hissed and coiled, ready to strike…

But Bubbles was there. Letting out an angry sound, he leapt out of the water and tackled the Arbok, startling it and knocking it back a little. But it recovered and moved towards the girl and the offending Magikarp, preparing to attack again and Andrea screamed again, scared for both herself and her beloved Bubbles.

Bubbles let out a sinister sounding growl at this snake daring to attack his trainer and his body glowed, lengthening and growing to a massive size as he evolved into a very angry blue Gyarados. Bubbles pulled Andrea out of the snake's range and against him protectively with his tail while his savage jaws gripped hold of the snake, both wounding it badly and throwing it into the woods a great distance away. Her parents watched all this in shock as they raced towards their daughter.

Once the threat was gone, the Gyarados's eyes immediately softened and it turned to Andrea, checking to make sure she was okay and very gently nuzzling the shaking girl. Her parents had finally reached them and hugged their daughter tightly.

"B-Bubbles?" she asked, looking up at the huge sea serpent who had once been her little Magikarp. The sea serpent nodded. "You saved me…Thank you…Thank you." She threw her arms around Bubbles the best she could and the Gyarados returned her hug by very gently coiling around her, careful not to hurt her. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "You're so big…but how?"

"He evolved, sweetheart. He evolved to save you. He's a Gyarados now." her father said softly with tears in his eyes, looking up to the massive water Pokemon with pure gratitude. "You saved my daughter. Thank you. Thank you so much." Bubbles nodded and looked back down at his young trainer. Once everyone calmed down enough, he moved into the shallow waters of the lake and motioned for Andrea to get on his back, wanting to take her for a ride around the lake and cheer her up. Andrea had always been able to read Bubbles well and understood this, grinning and climbing on. Her father went with her for the first few times, but then let Andrea ride by herself as he watched carefully and proudly, knowing Bubbles would never let anything happen to the little girl on his back.

...

The friendship sparked in a pet store would last a lifetime, only growing stronger as the two grew. One day, when Andrea becomes ten and gets her license, the two will go on their journey together.

But that's a story for another day.


End file.
